Stuck in Maplestory
by SONofAPOLLOx
Summary: A young boy named Jack gets sucked into a book. He finds out he's in Maple Island. He meets a wizard named Merlin who tries to help Jack get back to his own world. But a war has been started with Amherst vs Southperry. Who will he help? Will he even fight
1. I get sucked into my Book

**(A/N: Hello, everyone! This is my revised version of ****Maplestory****. I hope you enjoy it!)**

**Chapter 1: I get sucked into my Book**

I sat on the couch and stared at my new book. The shiny title read, "MapleStory." I opened it up and felt a strange tingle in my arms. All of a sudden, I was sucked in. I screamed, but because I was spinning in a portal, no one heard me. Then, I landed on the ground, face first. I opened my eyes and saw a gnarled tree root in front of my face.

"That was a close one, but where am I?" I wondered. I sat on the grass and thought.

"If I got sucked into my book, then that means I'm in the book," I said to myself. I shook my head and kept on thinking. While I was thinking, I heard a bush rustling and dry leaves being crushed. I grabbed a dead stick from the ground and stood up.

"Who's th-there," I called nervously. All of a sudden, my stick was blown out of my hand and knocked into a huge tree. Then, an old man with a long white beard and a gray robe hopped out of bush with a staff and a sword in his hand. When he looked at me, he smiled and lowered his weapons.

"Hello lad, what are you doing here?" the old man asked. The man had a deep but gentle voice.

"I…I don't know," I stuttered. "I got sucked into a book."

"The book was MapleStory. Am I right?" the bearded man replied. I nodded.

"Well, what is your name, boy?" the man asked.

"Jack. Are you Gandalf from Lord of the Rings?" I asked in wonder. The man chuckled, "No, I'm Merlin, a wizard. Gandalf is an old friend of man, though. I haven't seen him in years." I nodded with a bit of disappointment. I'd much rather be with Gandalf.

"Well, you're going to need a weapon to protect yourself. Do wish to have a sword, axe, or club?" Merlin asked.

"A sword, please," I answered. Merlin muttered a few words and all of a sudden, a sword came flying down from the sky. It landed in between me and Merlin.

"Take it." I pulled it out of the ground and inspected it. It was about twenty inches long, the length of my arm. The sword was sharp, but not as sharp as Merlin's.

"Well, you're going to need armor," Merlin muttered. The wizard muttered another set of words and a pile of leather armor dropped from the sky. I picked it up and strapped them onto my body. When, I reached for my helmet, I noticed it was an old fashioned aviator's cap.

"This is a pilot's hat, Merlin," I said.

"Yes, but it is the helmet you can get here. When you go to Victoria Island then you will get a different helmet," Merlin replied. "Now, we must make our way to Amherst." Merlin sheathed his sword and walked away.

"What's Amherst?" I asked, running to catch up with Merlin.

"It is a city in Maple Island-"

"What's Maple Island?"

"This island that we are on right now. Anyway, the other city is Southperry. It's where the ship leads you to Victoria Island. Now, enough talk, me must make haste." Merlin started to walk away and I followed.

"First stop is at Mushroom Town. We will rest there and continue our journey later," Merlin announced. "But be careful, dangerous snails and shrooms surround the town." Merlin continued to walk.

After several minutes passed, Merlin said, "We arrived at the borders of Mushroom Town. Be careful." I nodded and we started to walk forward. While we were walking, a bush rustled. Merlin and I unsheathed our weapons. All of a sudden, a dozen tiny mushrooms hopped out of the bush and squealed. They had orange caps and had two tiny legs, but no arms.

"Shrooms…" Merlin muttered.

"What can they do?" I asked with a bit of amusement. They _were_ only mushrooms.

"They spit poison. It might go through your armor but it will only be minor damage. But if they are too many, that is a problem," Merlin answered. After a long pause, Merlin yelled, "Attack!" Both of us charged the shrooms. I tried to stab the shrooms but they were swift and I had no training. Then, a thin line of poison flew towards me. Luckily, I just dodged it in time. I slashed and stabbed at the mushrooms but they kept dodging. Finally, I killed one and a tiny bit of mushroom blood squirted out. When I had killed the shroom, Merlin had finished the rest. He wiped the mushroom blood off of his sword and sheathed it.

"Well, we must keep moving. More shrooms will be hunting for us," Merlin said. I nodded, wiped the drops of blood on my sword, and sheathed my weapon. Together, we made our way to Mushroom Town.

After ten minutes passed, we arrived at Mushroom Town. It was night time when we had arrived. There were HUGE mushrooms as houses (which I hoped weren't shrooms) and many people were walking around, with bows, arrows, and swords strapped onto them. One time, I saw a market that sold dead shrooms as food. I almost vomited right there.

"Well lad, here we are," Merlin muttered, looking at the biggest mushroom I had ever seen. There was a sign that read, "Shroom Inn." We entered and saw pictures of shrooms everywhere. We went to the reception counter and a lady appeared behind the desk.

"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked.

"We would like a room with two beds," Merlin answered. The lady nodded, "That will be twenty mesos." I looked at her with a confused look but the glare on Merlin's face told me to act normal. I quickly changed my face and Merlin paid the lady twenty "mesos". The mesos were coins with a maple leaf on the front and back.

"Your room will be in 1E. Have a good night," the lady said with a smile.

"Thank you," Merlin replied, walking away. I followed him up the stairs and asked, "What are mesos?"

"Mesos are coins in this world," Merlin answered. We arrived at our hotel room and we opened the door.

"You need to rest. Go to sleep. I'll wake you in the morning," Merlin ordered. I nodded and climbed into one bed. Because I was exhausted, I immediately fell asleep.

**(A/N: Well, I hoped you liked it more than my other story. Please review).**

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	2. The Duel

**(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope that you're enjoying this story so far. And I hope you enjoy this chapter too).**

**Chapter 2: The Duel**

The next day, I was awoken by the light of the sun, pouring into my hotel room. I climbed out of bed and looked for Merlin. He was no where in sight. I shrugged and got changed into my clothes. As I strapped my sword onto my belt, Merlin entered the room.

"Are you ready, boy?" the wizard asked. I nodded, "Let's go." We exited our room and went to the reception counter. Merlin placed the keys on the mushroom counter and left the hotel, with me following him.

"We have to move quickly, in order to get to Amherst in the afternoon," Merlin said as we were walking. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm fine," I answered, even though I was starving. I hadn't eaten dinner yesterday. Merlin nodded but studied my face.

"You look hungry," he muttered. "I'll buy some food."

"Nah, I'm okay," I repeated. He ignored me and went to the market that sold shrooms for food.

"Oh no," I said under my breath. Merlin must've heard me or something because he said, "They sell the best shrooms on Maple Island. Trust me, you'll enjoy eating them." I nodded and a queasy feeling came to my stomach. Merlin bought one shroom for two mesos and handed me the mushroom.

"Eat it, you'll like it," Merlin assured me. I took a deep breath and took a bite. At first, I didn't taste anything but then, the taste came to me. It was delicious; it tasted like a mushroom but with more ingredients mixed with it. I devoured it quickly. When Merlin saw that I had finished quickly, he smiled, "You liked it, didn't you?" I nodded with pleasure.

"Well, we have to go," Merlin said, walking away. I followed him and soon, we had exited the gates of Mushroom Town and continued our journey.

"Will we be attacked by shrooms again?" I asked.

"If they find us they will attack without hesitating," Merlin replied. "Do you remember we killed the other shrooms?" I nodded.

"But don't worry, they're horrible trackers," Merlin assured me. "Now hurry, we have to move quickly." Merlin quickly continued to walk and I had to jog to keep up with him.

"When are we going to arrive there?" I asked.

"In about two hours, if we don't encounter anyone," Merlin answered. As we were walking, a man stopped in front of us. He was tall and had gray hair. He must've been old.

"Hello, travelers!" he said cheerfully. "I'm Peter. And who are you?"

"This is Jack and I am Merlin," Merlin answered, "Now if you excuse us, we have to go." Merlin started to walk but Peter blocked him.

"You have to pass my test if you want to pass," Peter said.

"All right, ask me, and make it quick," Merlin ordered.

"No, no, no. The young one has to answer my questions." Merlin sighed, "Good luck, boy."

"What? I just came here!" I cried. I was afraid I might get a question wrong.

"Too bad. First question: Which town sells the best shrooms?"

"Mushroom Town," I answered.

"Good! Next question: True or False? Shrooms can spit out poison."

"True," I replied. _Please let the next question be easy,_ I prayed.

"Last question," Peter said. "How do you go to Victoria Island?" _Oh no,_ I thought.

"You have to...kill amonster?" I guessed. Peter shook his head, "Wrong! You can't pass." Merlin muttered a few words which I guessed were curses. But instead, Peter looked dazed, "You may pass."

"Thank you," Merlin growled. The old wizard grabbed my arm and started walking.

"What did you do to him?" I asked curiously.

"I made him forget. It will wear off eventually," Merlin answered. "By the way, you have to have permission from Amherst's leader to go to Victoria Island. But, you could pay one hundred fifty mesos. Now hurry, we wasted too much time talking to Peter."

Soon, we had arrived at Amherst, and most of the time, we were running away from shrooms. Anyway, Amherst, like Mushroom Town, had mushrooms as houses. Sadly, there were no shrooms for lunch.

"Well, we're going to need more people," Merlin panted.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Amherst is known for their quests. Most likely you are going to get one. So you need a party," Merlin answered.

"Like a birthday party?" I asked. Merlin shook his head with a smile.

"I'll tell you later." So, Merlin and I started searching for people. Then, we saw a boy with a sword strapped to his waist.

"Go ask him," Merlin ordered.

"Why me?" I complained.

"He's your age, now hurry." Merlin gave me a light push and I started walking towards the boy. I tapped his shoulder and he looked at me. He had tanned skin and brown hair. He laughed at me.

"I like your hat," he said in a mocking tone.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Anyway, what do you want?" he asked.

"I, uh, want you in my party," I answered, but it sounded more like a question.

"Maybe, but you're going to have to duel me," the boy replied. I looked at Merlin but all he did was nod. I sighed, "All right, let's go." The boy gave me a smirk and drew his sword. The duel was about to begin.

**(A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope you didn't think it was boring and too long. Well, thanks for reading! Please review and suggestions are free).**

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	3. The Quest

**(A/N: Hey guys! Well, sorry I haven't updated in some time. I hope you enjoy this chapter! By the way, I'm only going into middle school, so don't expect me to be a professional. Thanks)!**

**Chapter 3: The Quest**

As I was drawing my sword, the boy charged. Right before he stabbed me, I dodged. The sword was inches away from my face. I lunged at him but he jumped out of the way just in time. He slashed at my face, but luckily, I parried his attack and stabbed his arm. The boy growled but slashed at my stomach. I tried to dodge but I a small cut appeared. I cursed and kicked the boy in the stomach. He doubled over. Then, I placed my sword underneath his chin, "Surrender?" The boy smiled and grabbed my sword. Then, he stabbed my stomach. His sword didn't go in too deep but the pain was immense.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I shouted in anger.

"This is a duel, not a real fight," the boy muttered in my ear. "I can't kill you." A long string of curses came out of my mouth. I slammed the hilt of my sword onto his head. He moaned in pain and backed up. I easily took the sword out of my stomach and placed both swords on his shoulders.

"Surrender, or else," I growled. He whacked the swords away and muttered, "You didn't have to hit me that hard." I lowered my swords but it was a bad idea. He tackled me to the ground and we started to wrestle. While we were wrestling, I dropped the two swords, which clattered on the stone pavement. I started to punch his face and kick his legs. While we were tackling, punching, and kicking, the boy grabbed his sword and placed it under my chin.

"Give up?" the boy asked with a smirk. I whacked the sword away and stormed off. But the boy ran in front of me and blocked my path.

"That was a nice fight, I suppose I can join your party," he said.

"A nice fight, eh?" I scoffed. "You stabbed my stomach!" The boy sighed, "Stop whining. Am I in your party or what?" I nodded, "Follow me."

"Wait, you forgot this," the boy said, handing me my sword.

"Thanks," I murmured. As we were walking towards Merlin, I asked, "What's your name?"

"John, son of Joseph. Who are you?" John replied.

"Jack, son of…my parents," I answered. John laughed as we stopped in front of Merlin.

"Hello, lad, have you decided to join our party?" Merlin asked. John nodded. Merlin smiled, "What's your name?"

"John, son of Joseph," John answered. Merlin nodded, "I am Merlin." Immediately, John bowed down, "I am at your service." Merlin chuckled, "Get up, boy." He lightly hit the boy with his staff and looked at me with concern.

"You're injured," he frowned.

"I'm fine," I muttered, "if he didn't stab me." Merlin muttered a spell and all of a sudden, John and I were healed.

"Thank you, sir," John said, bowing again.

"Call me Merlin, and get up," Merlin ordered. John got back to his feet and said, "If you want another party member, you can ask my friend."

"Can you go get him please?" Merlin asked. John nodded and ran off.

"Merlin, you have to explain to me what a party is," I ordered.

"All right, boy. Be patient. A party is a group of people, who help each other fight enemies, earn items, do quests, and much more. Are you satisfied?" I nodded, "But, why does John bow down to you?"

"I'm a wizard while he is and Islander. It's a sign of respect," Merlin answered. "Now, enough with the questions. Now we must wait."

A few minutes later, John came back with his friend. His friend was tall, muscular, and burnt skin. He had electrifying blue eyes and huge hands.

"This is my friend, Matthew, son of Jason. A skilled blacksmith and swordfighter," John explained.

"It is an honor to meet you sir," Matthew said, bowing.

"Get up, boy!" Merlin ordered. Matthew was startled by his voice.

"Rule number one: Call me Merlin and do not bow," Merlin growled. "Understand?" Matthew and John nodded. Then, Merlin started to explain the other rules, like no attacking each other and other simple rules. While he was explaining, someone screamed. We all ran towards the person who screamed. We found the person who screamed, which was a plump woman with a terrified and grief-stricken face. The whole entire town surrounded us as we spoke to the lady.

"What happened here?" Merlin asked.

"Th-Thieves. Thieves from Southperry! They stole everything I owned and threatened me!" the lady screamed.

"How do you know they were from Southperry?" Merlin asked.

"They-they had the sign of the town's coat of arms," she answered.

"We'll get your items back, ma'am," Matthew assured her.

"A quest, Matthew?" John asked with pleasure. "I can't wait."

"What did they look like?" Merlin said.

"They had masks, but blue eyes. Everyone one of them." The Merlin shot questions at her like a machine gun. Finally, it was over. The town's people walked away but we stayed, sitting on the ground.

"There were four thieves, all of them had blue eyes, and had the Southperry's coat of arms," Merlin muttered. "Are you ready for a quest?"

"No," I muttered.

"Yes!" John and Matthew cried. Merlin smiled, "Then let's go."

**(I hope you enjoyed to chapter. Again, I'm sorry for not updated sooner. I hope you can forgive me! If you can't...sniff*)**

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	4. The Thief Hideout

**(A/N: Hello, everyone! Because I didn't update before, I'm going to write another chapter. Enjoy!)**

**Disclaimer: I forgot my Maplestory account :(**

**Chapter 4: The Thief Hideout**

Everyone was packed up and ready to start the quest. As Matthew was strapping his sword onto his belt, he asked, "Sir–I mean Merlin. Where do we begin?"

"We follow their tracks," Merlin answered simply.

"But none of us no how to follow tracks," John said. Merlin smiled, "I know how to." John nodded, "Then let's go." We started our journey to search for the thieves. We exited the gate and entered the forest. While we were walking, my stomach growled.

"Merlin, do you have any left over shrooms?" I asked. Merlin grabbed a dead shroom from his pack and handed it to me.

"It's from Amherst, it's not as good as Mushroom Town's shrooms," Merlin informed me. I took a bite. This time, it tasted like a regular mushroom. I sighed; I'd rather have Mushroom Town's food. But because I was starving, I devoured it quickly.

After thirty minutes had passed, Merlin exclaimed, "I found the footprints." But instead, I saw a shallow stream-only up to my knee-in front of me, not footprints.

"Where are the tracks?" I asked. "There's only water."

"Across the stream, but I wonder why they didn't go into the water, we wouldn't have been able to follow them," Merlin muttered. "Maybe it's a trap." Merlin shook his head and said, "We rest here." We dropped our bags and rested under the sun. John waded in the water and Merlin practiced his spells.

"Jack, come here!" Merlin called. I ran over and asked, "What is it?"

"You haven't had much training with the sword, so I must train you. Thieves are very skilled, and you have to ready for it." I nodded, "So what do I do?"

"Draw your sword," Merlin ordered. I followed his order and drew my sword out of its scabbard.

"Now, you need to focus on your balance. If you fall, you die," Merlin said. The old wizard kicked my ankle and made me fall. He placed his sword under my chin.

"Well, all beginners fall. Don't worry, you're not the worst," Merlin assured me, helping me up. When I got back up, Merlin started to train me. He taught me some basic sword techniques. My favorite skill was the disarming trick. After I had done my training, I was drenched in sweat. I went into the stream and washed my face and drank some water. The water was refreshing.

"All right, we've wasted enough time. We have to keep moving," Merlin ordered. Everyone got packed up and our quest continued. As we were walking, one of the bushes rustled. Merlin frowned.

"Must be the wind," John said. But he was wrong. At least fifty shrooms emerged from the bush.

"A whole clan of shrooms," Merlin muttered, drawing his sword. We followed his example and were ready to fight. Then the shrooms attacked, tackling our legs to make us fall and spitting poison. I stabbed the shrooms and slashed their orange caps off. Some of the capless shrooms were running around, squealing in pain.

"Why are there so many?" John yelled.

"No time to explain," Merlin said, stabbing a shroom. As I stabbed the last shroom, the ground rumbled.

"Oh, no," Merlin mumbled. All of a sudden, a huge mushroom jumped out of a bush. It had an orange cap with yellow spots all over it.

"What…is…that," I muttered.

"That's an orange mushroom," Merlin answered. "He's too powerful." Merlin muttered a spell and the mushroom was blown away.

"I wanted to fight an orange mushroom," John complained. "We probably could've beat it."

"It's too strong, you might have been killed," Merlin growled. "We have to move quickly, the blood of the shrooms will attract more." We started to run away from the dead shrooms, but before we did, I grabbed four shrooms, just in case.

We traveled very far from the corpses of the shrooms. There was no way that the shrooms could catch us, was what Merlin said. It was now night time, and the stars were splattered in the sky. We sat down and Merlin started a small fire. I took the shrooms out of my pack and handed it to Merlin.

"What should we do with these?" I asked. "I don't know how to cook them." Merlin made four sticks appear in front of each of us. "You roast them." I stuck the shroom on my stick and roasted it. After five minutes passed, we ate. Again, I thought Mushroom Town's shrooms were better. We ate in silence. Finally, Merlin asked, "John, we need more firewood. Can you find some?"

"Anything for you, Merlin," John said, walking away. When John was out of sight, Matthew and Merlin started to talk. Instead, I lay down and rested. While Matthew and Merlin were talking, John came back with a happy face.

"Merlin, I found the thieves' hideout!"

**(A/N: Sorry it was sort of short. I hope it wasn't boring either. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Bye!)**

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	5. A Misunderstanding

**(A/N: This is my next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. By the way, I made a new Maplestory account). :)**

**Chapter 5: A Misunderstanding**

In front of us was the Thief Hideout. The hideout was a tree that had a huge hole in the center. It was not a comfortable place to hide.

"Are you sure this is it?" Merlin asked. John nodded, "I heard voices in there." All of a sudden, four men came out of the tree.

"Hide!" Merlin hissed. We hid behind a bush and looked at the thieves. On their arms were badges, shining in the moonlight. Merlin had noticed it and said, "You were right John." John smiled proudly and his face glowed with pride.

"I heard something," one of the thieves whispered. "Someone is here." The thieves took out throwing knives from their pockets and were ready to fight.

"Should we charge?" Matthew asked.

"Not yet," Merlin answered. "Keep your voices low." Then, the thieves started to search the area. Soon, they would find us.

"Now we charge," Merlin whispered. He took out his sword and charged, with his companions. The thieves hissed with anger and threw their throwing stars and knives. I dodged and blocked the flying weapons but I could not get close to them. Then, Merlin slammed the grassy ground with his staff and the thieves fell to the ground. When we got close to them, they got up and took out their daggers. I slashed and stabbed but they were skilled fighters. Most of the time I was blocking or dodging their attacks. The thief that I was fighting climbed a tree threw throwing knives at me. I dodged but each time a knife landed on the ground, it exploded. When the thief ran out of throwing knives and throwing stars, he took out his dagger and jumped out of the tree. When he landed on the ground, he stabbed my shoulder. The pain was too much for me and my body went numb.

"My dagger is poisoned, boy. Even if you get a tiny cut, you will die in a minute," the thief whispered in my ear. I gathered the last of my strength and stabbed the thief in the stomach. The masked fighter groaned in pain and fell to the ground.

"No!" Merlin shouted as he looked at me. My body went limp and I saw no more.

**Merlin's Point of View**

I saw Jack fall to the ground landing next to the fallen thief. I muttered a spell and the thief in front of me was frozen.

"Let me go!" the thief roared. I ignored him and ran over to Jack. His heart was beating abnormally. He was poisoned, and he would die soon. I quickly muttered a healing spell. The poison's effect would stop temporarily. I looked at John. He had bruises all over his body. I ran over to him and helped fight the enemy. Soon, the thief fell to the ground and groaned in pain. John and I ran over to Matthew, which was unnecessary. He had defeated the enemy and ran over to us.

"Is everyone all right?" Matthew asked. I shook my head.

"Jack was poisoned," I answered.

"What?" John exclaimed.

"He was poisoned, boy. Now get the thieves and tie them up," I ordered. "I will try to heal Jack." I walked over to the boy and knelt beside him. With my remaining energy, I chanted a spell that would heal him. After I was done, I sighed. I had no more energy to do another spell. I stared at Jack and waited for him to wake.

"Merlin, we tied them up," Matthew called.

"All right boy, I will be there soon," I answered. All of a sudden, Jack got up.

**Jack's Point of View**

I opened my eyes and looked around. Then, I saw Merlin. The old wizard smiled with joy. I smiled back and sat up.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You were poisoned, boy. You almost died," Merlin answered. "How do you feel?"

"Better," I muttered. The pain in my shoulder was still throbbing but it was better than before.

"John, Matthew, come here," Merlin called. My friends ran over and cried with joy when they saw me. Matthew patted my head and John danced all over the place.

"How are you, friend?" Matthew asked.

"I'm all right," I answered. "Did you get them?" Matthew nodded, "Merlin is asking them questions now." I looked to my side but Merlin wasn't there, "Where did he go?"

"He can teleport," Matthew answered with a smile. "Come; let's see what the thieves have to say." We walked away, leaving the dancing John in the area. But when he noticed we weren't there, he ran towards us.

"Hey, you can't leave me there," John said.

"I thought you wouldn't notice," Matthew muttered. We arrived where the thieves were tied up. When we got there, Merlin was asking questions.

"Who do you serve?" Merlin asked.

"Southperry, of course," the leader of the enemy growled.

"Southperry and Amherst have never stolen anything in the last millennium," Merlin said. "Speak the truth or I will send you to the Underworld." The thieves looked scared. The Underworld was probably a bad place.

"All right, I will tell you," the leader gulped. "We serve the Dark Emperor."

"The Dark Emperor is dead, you fool," Merlin growled.

"He will revive, and he will take over every island there is," the thief said with a sly smile.

"Be gone!" Merlin roared. With that, the thieves disappeared. Merlin drank a blue drink and sighed with relief, "I need more energy potions. Now hurry, we must go."

"Why?" I asked. "Its night, shouldn't we sleep?"

"They said they were servants of the Dark Emperor, not Southperry. If we do not go, a war might be started," Merlin answered. "It was all a misunderstanding. And the enemy wanted Maple Island in ruins. Now hurry, there's no time to lose." We started to run towards Amherst city.

Soon, we had arrived at Amherst, but soldiers ran all over the town, wearing armor and swords strapped to their waists. The war was about to start.

"Are we too late, Merlin?" John asked.

"We can still tell the Chief Lucas. Hurry, he's most likely in his house," Merlin ordered. We arrived at his house, which was a lot bigger than regular homes. Merlin pounded on the door, and the chief came out. He had, light brown hair with a beard. He looked old, but not as old as Merlin.

"Hello Merlin, have you decide who you will fight for?" Chief Lucas asked.

"We do not have to fight, Lucas. The thieves were"- Merlin started.

"Southperry destroyed all of our ships, robbed our people, and killed several citizens. We will fight to stop this madness," Lucas said.

"My friend, the thieves said they were servants of the Dark Emperor. Not of Southperry. They wanted the towns to fall, so that they will have no problem summoning the Emperor," Merlin said.

"It is too late, Merlin. When one of the messengers went to Southperry, he was shot down. They will do the same if another messenger comes," Lucas replied. "It would be best if you got ready for the battle, they will kill anyone in sight." Merlin sighed and walked away. John, Matthew, and I followed him.

"Merlin, who is the Dark Emperor?" I asked, running to catch up to him.

"He was the one who ruled Victoria Island long ago. He was evil and everyone who didn't serve him died," Merlin answered. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow, we are going to fight."

**(A/N: Hello, everyone! Hope you didn't think it was boring. Well, I'm almost finished with this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Bye!)**

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	6. The Decision

**(A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in some time. Anyway, this is when the battle begins and my last chapter. Sorry it was only six chapters. I hope you enjoyed this story!)**

**Chapter 6: The Decision**

"Jack, it is time to wake up," Merlin whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes and the sun's light poured into the hotel room.

"Good morning, Merlin," I muttered. I hopped off my bed and saw John and Matthew, entering the room.

"You slept like a dead man, Jack," Matthew said with a smile. I smiled back and strapped my armor on.

"When is the war?" I asked.

"It will start soon. I would say ten minutes or so. Mushroom Town is supporting us," Merlin answered, "Come now, we have to get to the battlefield." We exited the hotel and went outside. The sun shone brightly and blinded us all.

"Where is the battlefield?" John asked, covering his eyes.

"At the Split Road," Merlin answered. As we were walking, we heard yelling. Beside us was a soldier arguing with a girl. The girl had long, curly black hair and a beautiful face with shining blue eyes. John and Matthew literally drooled at the sight of the girl. Merlin walked over and asked, "What is the problem here?"

"This girl wants to fight in the battle, but no girls are allowed," the soldier answered. "Chief Lucas said so."

"Athena Pierce is an archer and so many other _girls _have their first job advancement!" the girl growled. "Men aren't always the best, you know."

"All right, I will take care of her," Merlin said. "You may leave." The soldier nodded and walked away.

"All right lass, why don't you just go back home?" Merlin asked. "You will be safe."

"I want to fight!" she growled. Merlin muttered a spell and said, "Go home."

"NEVER!" she screamed. Merlin looked confused.

"My spell doesn't work?" he muttered. "All right, fine. But if you get killed, it is your fault." Merlin walked towards us and muttered, "That girl is a strange one."

"And beautiful," John whispered. I punched his arm, "Enough with the "beautiful" stuff. And stop drooling." I looked at the ground and saw a mini pool of saliva on the pavement. I shook my head and asked, "Should we ask her to join our party?"

"Or maybe ask her out?" Matthew said dreamily.

"She's mine!" John shouted, tackling Matthew to the ground. Merlin picked them both up and growled, "Break a rule one more time and I will send _you_ to the Underworld." The old wizard dropped them to the ground and said, "Jack, why don't you ask her to the party?"

"Why is it always me," I muttered.

"You better not ask her out!" Matthew yelled. I walked towards the girl. She was sitting on the ground, fiddling with her sword.

"Um, would you… Would you like to join our party?" I asked, blushing madly.

"Maybe," she answered.

"Please don't ask me to a duel," I muttered. She looked at me, puzzled and said, "Why not? It's the only way to join a party." I sighed, "Then I give up."

"Then, _I _can't join your party," she replied. "You have to win."

"Fine," I muttered, drawing my sword. She stood up and unsheathed her weapon. The girl charged at me. I quickly dodged and accidentally tripped her. I placed my sword under her chin, "That was quick." She swatted my sword away and muttered, "You were lucky." I helped her up and walked towards Merlin and my companions.

"Well, you're not much of a fighter, girl," Merlin chuckled.

"Well, I accidently tripped her, so I'm lucky," I said. Merlin shrugged and looked at the girl, "What is your name?"

"Jennifer, but you can call me Jennie," Jennie answered. "Or you can call me Jen."

"Nice to meet you, Jennie. I'm John," John quickly said, stepping in front of Matthew. But Matthew pushed John out of the way and greeted her. I sighed and pushed them both to the ground, "Will you just SHUT UP?"

"All right, you didn't have to push us though," John muttered. Then, he started to stare at Jennie dreamily. I sighed, nothing would stop them now.

"Merlin, shouldn't we go?" I asked. He nodded and said, "Come now, the battle will start soon." We started our way to the Split Road. In five minutes, we had arrived at our destination. In front of us were the Amherst and Mushroom Town army. At the other side was the Southperry army. The Southperry army was huge. It had more soldiers than Mushroom Town and Amherst combined.

"I shall protect you, Jennie," John said.

"No I will," Matthew growled.

"Jack will protect her," Merlin replied.

"What?" I asked. "Why me?" Merlin ignored me and took out his sword. Soon, Merlin said, "The battle is starting soon." And he was right. Everyone was drawing their weapons. There were bows, swords, clubs, and axes.

"Good luck everyone," Merlin whispered to us. We nodded our thanks and were ready to fight.

"Charge!" the commander of the Amherst army roared. Everyone cheered and charged. The armies collided and the battle began. I slashed and stabbed, and killed many. Beside me was Jennie, her hair was flying in the wind. I was enchanted by her beauty until someone had kicked me to the ground. In front of me was an enemy. He tried to stab me but luckily, I rolled out of the way and stabbed his leg. He fell to the ground and I stabbed his stomach. I looked behind and Merlin was doing his spells. He was driving the enemy crazy, or just killing them. One of the crazy Southperry soldier was dancing all over the battlefield. All of a sudden, arrows rained down on us. One of the arrows shot my shoulder and my leg. A Southperry soldier hit my head with the hilt of his sword and I fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Jennie ran over to me. Her sword had blood covered in it.

"You really don't know how to dodge arrows?" she muttered, but she had a worried face.

"Well, I never had to do that," I answered. She pulled the arrows out, which caused more pain.

"What did you do that for?" I yelled.

"It's for your own good, don't complain," Jennie replied, helping me up. The pain in my leg was too much so I couldn't walk well. My head had a major head ache and my shoulder stung from the arrow.

"Well, I guess I'll do the protecting now," Jennie muttered. "Cover my back." She turned around and slashed at the enemy. I followed her orders and I covered her back, "I'm still protecting you." I hacked and stabbed, killing many. Then, there was a loud screech. Everyone stopped fighting and looked at the sky. All of a sudden, a dozen black dragons appeared that dropped off a hundred thieves.

"Attack the thieves. Do not attack each other!" Merlin shouted. The three armies listened and attacked the real enemy. But no one could get close to the enemy. Jennie ran in front of me and towards the thieves.

"Jennie, no!" I shouted, trying to grab her hand. She charged the thieves, dodging the throwing stars and knives. She killed one thief and killed another. But then, several throwing stars were thrown and they met their mark. Jennie fell to the ground, with four stars stuck in her body.

"Cover me!" I yelled to John and Matthew. They nodded as I ran to Jennie. I picked her up and ran towards Merlin.

"Merlin, you have to heal her," I said. He nodded and I set her on the ground. I looked for John and Matthew, and I saw them, lying on the ground, with knives and stars all over their bodies. They had sacrificed their lives for me. I fell to me knees. My friends were dying, and I couldn't do anything. I stood back up, wiped away my tears, and was ready to fight. If my friends fall, then I will fall with them. I cried my battle cry and charged the thieves. I slashed at a thief and he fell to the ground, blood pooling around him. I killed another but another thief had thrown a star at me. I tried to dodge but it was too late; the star had stabbed my stomach. I ignored the pain and killed another rogue. Then, a throwing knife stabbed my chest and I fell to my knees. I spat out some blood and stood back up. I charged another thief and stabbed his chest. But before he died, he stabbed my stomach with his dagger. It went in deep and I fell to the ground, next to a fallen soldier. I watched as each soldier fell to the ground. But some archers had shot down the thieves. Soon, the thieves' numbers were low and the retreated. When they disappeared into the woods, I blacked out.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Merlin. Merlin laughed with joy.

"My friend, how do you feel?" my old friend asked with a smile. The pain was still stinging but I answered, "I feel great." Then, my three other friends appeared. John, Matthew, and Jennie smiled happily. And luckily, John didn't dance. Jennie hugged me, which made me blush madly and made John and Matthew jealous.

"I was worried about you," Jennie said. I was too embarrassed to say anything. "Oh, by the way, we got the recommendation letters to go to Victoria Island." Jennie took out out five letters out of her pocket. The envelope was decorated in flowers. But before I got to say anything, Merlin said, "Jack, I have something to tell you." He had a serious face. "I made a portal that will lead you to you're home."

"Where is it?" I asked excitedly. I couldn't wait to be home and see my family. All my friends' faces were full of grief. I would miss them too, but I needed my family.

"Follow me," Merlin sighed. I slid off my bed. The injury on my stomach was still stinging but I ignored it and followed the wizard. We stepped outside the hospital (I knew it was a hospital because there was the Red Cross sign behind me) and entered the forest. In front of me was a blue circle that was spinning around slowly.

"You may go now," Merlin muttered. All my friends had tears in their eyes.

"I will miss you Jack," Merlin whispered. John, Matthew, and Jennie were too sad to say anything. I took a step forward and the portal was right in front of my face. I turned around and smiled.

"I choose to stay."

**(A/N: Well, I finished! I hope you didn't find this chapter boring. Well, please review and I hope you enjoyed it!)**

**(Second A/N: If you want me to write another story, tell me in the review).**

**-APOLLOxx0909**


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